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Thunderwolves drop key division contest at home againt Toronto

It was thrilling to watch, but in the end, it was just another loss for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
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Lakehead's Dylan Butler helps clear the Fort William Gardens ice of stuffed animals during the first period Friday night. The game was interrupted after Sam Schutt's goal by the team's annual teddy bear toss promotion. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

It was thrilling to watch, but in the end, it was just another loss for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

The one solace in the 5-4 shootout defeat at the hands of the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues is the Thunderwolves (1-10-2) picked up a point, just their fourth in 13 games.

But they also slid another point further back of a playoff berth, an achievement that is starting to look more and more like an improbability with the Christmas break just a week away.

Rookie Mathew Campagna, a two-time 20-goal scorer in the Ontario Hockey League, put the game away in the shootout, beating Lakehead goalie Devin Green on his blocker side for the only goal of the penalty-shot contest.

Toronto goalie Andrew Hunt made a series of point-blank stops and saved 48 shots during regulation and overtime, turning aside Cody Alcock, Billy Jenkins and Kelin Ainsworth in succession in the shootout to earn the Varsity Blues the valuable victory.

Lakehead coach Bill McDonald blamed a sloppy second period for the loss.

The Wolves, who led 2-1 after one on goals by Sam Schutt and Tyler Kunz, gave up three goals in the middle stanza and trailed 4-3 entering the third.

It’s a period McDonald would like back.

“We had a bad second period. If we’d had a mediocre second period we probably would have won, but we didn’t. The first was good, the third was good, overtime was good and then the shootout,” McDonald said.

“I think it was a community of things in the second period. I think we kind of lost our focus for a bit and got running around, obviously in our own end. We put ourselves in a position when we have to score and when time runs out, sometimes it’s not there.”

Captain Luke Maw, who drew an assist on Cody Alcock’s game-tying goal 3:49 into the third, said they have to put the loss in the rear-view mirror.

“We slipped at the start of the second period and it probably cost us the game,” the fifth-year veteran blue-liner said.

“We’ve got to be more mentally tough going into the third period, or during any intermission, I guess.”

Toronto stuck first, Patrick Marsh sneaking into the slot and converting Max Lindsay’s pass from behind the LU net.

Schutt tied it unassisted at the 7:04 mark of the opening period, resulting in a cascade of stuffed animals raining down from above onto the Fort William Gardens ice marking the Wolves’ annual teddy bear toss.

The home side took a one-goal lead into the second, but Christian Finch tied things up just 2:22 into the period.

Lakehead’s Billy Jenkins quickly put the Wolves in front again, outmuscling a Toronto defender for an open look on Hunt.
But the lead was short-lived.

Finch fired a pinpoint pass to Patrick Marsh at the side of the LU net, the one-timer – Marsh’s second of the contest – evening the score once again. Finch would score before the period was out to give the Varsity Blues (5-7-2) their second lead of the night.

Overtime solved nothing, though it was the Thunderwolves who had the best opportunities to end the game.

Kelin Ainsworth and Garick Gray combined on a two-on-one in the second OT period, Gray batting the puck out of the air but over the Toronto net.

Alcock rang one of the post after being set free by Jake Wight, then as the clock wound down and the two teams traded odd-man rushes, Alcock and Schutt both had chances to win it, but Hunt stood tall to send it to a shootout.


FIRST PERIOD
Scoring:
1. Toronto, Marsh (Lindsay) 5:59. 2. Lakehead, Schutt 3 (unassisted) 7:04. 3. Lakehead, Kunz 2 (Jenkins, Alcock) 15:43 pp. Penalties: Oakley TOR (boarding) 15:07.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring
: 4. Toronto, Finch (Campagna) 2:12. 5. Lakehead, Jenkins (unassisted) 6:34. 6. Toronto, Finch (Campagna, Nowak) 12:43. 7. Toronto, Marsh (Finch, Cleverley) 15:30 pp. Penalties: Faust LAK (hooking) 13:32, Klomp TOR, Kunz LAK (roughing) 17:07.

THIRD PERIOD
Scoring
: 8. Lakehead, Alcock (Wright, Maw) 3:49. Penalties: Flanagan TOR (goaltender interference) 6:45,

GAME DATASOG – Toronto 10-16-10-1-4-41, Lakehead 17-12-14-3-6-52; Power plays (goals-chances) – Toronto (1-1), Lakehead (1-2); Goaltenders – Toronto: Andrew Hunt, Lakehead – Devin Green; A: 2,318.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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